Uber vs. NYC Councilman Steve Levin
Welcome to the first Brownstoner Controversy: a quick guide to the latest and greatest kerfuffle inside and outside of Brooklyn. Uber’s having a rough week. Not only are their French execs facing...
View ArticleIs Historic Preservation Elitist?
Left to right: Panelists Fedak, Powell Harris, Lodhi and Brady Is historic preservation elitist? It depends who you ask. Six experts and a very well informed audience — many of them professional or...
View ArticleDe Blasio vs. Critics: Should NYCHA Lease Public Land to Private Developers?
New York is in a housing crisis, for both affordable and market rate units. So de Blasio’s plan to lease NYCHA land to developers in exchange for cash and more affordable and market rate apartments...
View ArticlePreservationists Say Landmarks Bill Would Let Building Owners Game the System
The clock is ticking for more than one proposed landmark. A bill setting time limits on how long the Landmarks Preservations Commission can take to consider landmarking a proposed site is coming up...
View ArticleREBNY vs. Preservationists: Does Landmarking Hurt Affordable Housing?
Preservationists have long lobbied for landmarks protections not only to preserve the city’s culture and architecture, but also its affordable housing. They argue that without landmarks, many...
View ArticleUltra-Orthodox vs. Animal Rights Activists: Should Chicken-Killing Ritual...
Animals rights activists have cried fowl at kapparot (also called kaporos), a 2,000-year-old Orthodox Jewish tradition involving ritual chicken slaughter. In preparation for Yom Kippur, practitioners...
View ArticleCuomo vs. de Blasio: Should New York State or City Increase MTA Funding?
Cypress Hills J Station, arguably the most decrepit station in Brooklyn The New York City Transit system needs help, and the state and city are both saying “not it” when it comes to accepting...
View ArticleDoes Gentrification Help the Poor? NYCHA Residents Weigh In
NYCHA-run Louis Heaton Pink Houses in East New York The poor do not benefit from gentrification, according to a $250,000 report researched in part by five NYCHA residents hired by the city to...
View ArticleEast New York: To Rezone or Not Rezone?
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to upzone East New York is not moving easily through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. On Monday, the City Council held a hearing on the controversial plan. But...
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